How to Use

Greenspeak is aimed at the general reader, so 'dictionary terms' are kept to a necessary minimum. It is divided into three sections: Part I, the A-Z section, is the main core of the book; Part II comprises a Subject Index and a People Index; and Part III is a list of Irish-related abbreviations in common use within Ireland.

Part I

The headwords in Part I are listed in strict alphabetic order (disregarding breaks between words and fadas). For example:

• me
• meas
• medical card
• mé féin

In cases where two headwords have the same spelling but derive from different words, they are identified by a superscript number. For example:

• bawn ¹
• bawn ²

Where headwords have a variety of uses or meanings, which share the same etymology, these are seperated by numbers within the definition. For example:

ballyhoo (US slang) 1. noisy advertising, e.g. outside a circus tent, blarney. There is a painting of Ballyhooly Fair by William Mulready in Maryhill Museum, Washington State, USA. 2. uproar. 3. (verb) to drum up support in a noisy way.

Words within definitions that are in bold indicate a cross-reference to another headword within Part I (this also applies to words in this introductory explanation). Proper names in bold refer to the People Index in Part II.

The modern Irish spellings used - unless otherwise stated - are those of the Official Standard (Caighdeán Oifigiúil). Words that are preceded by an asterisk (*) are incorrect or hypothetical forms (e.g. incorrect spelling).

Part I includes words that are unique or native to Ireland - such as bodhrán, round tower and high cross. It concentrates on those words that have some widespread currency or point of particular interest.

It also includes many words beginning with 'Irish' - Irish bouzouki, Irish bull, Irish moss, Irish stew. However, to represent common usage, the word 'Irish' is often omitted from within definitions. For example, in a definition, the word Republic (in bold as it is a cross-reference) would relate to Irish Republic/Republic of Ireland. This is something of which readers should be aware when looking for cross-references.

Phonetics are given only for Irish words, using a simplified version of the International Phonetic Alphabet. This is aimed less at those who have studied Irish at school, and more at readers who have not had the chance to learn Irish.

The only letters that look unfamiliar are the upside down e or ə (called a schwa by linguists, ɣ' (the y sound at the beginning of 'yes') and ŋ (the nasal sound at the end 'eating'). The schwa is the most common sound in the English language and equates, for example, to the unstressed vowel in the word 'ago'. It is just as common in Irish.

The phonetic system used in Greenspeak is based on that of the Lárchanúint ('core dialect') which appears in the Foclóir Póca (pocket dictionary) produced by the government of Ireland in 1986, which is the dictionary most commonly available in Ireland and elsewhere. It uses a suggested pronunciation that will be understood throughout Ireland; that is not to say that other pronunciations will not be heard.

The symbol /'/ indicates primary stress and precedes the stressed syllable. Secondary stress is indicated by /,/. If a single word is unmarked, the stress is on the first syllable.

Vowels

Consonants

Abbreviations used within the entries in Part I:

Part II

Part II comprises the Subject Index, which groups all the headwords thematically (some headwords may appear in more than one category); and the People Index including those mentioned (all of whom will be highlighted as a cross-reference) within the definition given in Part I.

Of the people listed, extra information (dates, place of birth, occupation, etc.) is given for those who are Irish. Within this index, the definition of Irish is taken to include everyone who under the present law would be an Irish citizen and those who, like St. Patrick, were not born in Ireland, and who are not of Irish ancestry, but who spent a large portion of their lives living in Ireland and who influenced the course of Irish history in some way.

The names of those who are not Irish are followed merely by the headwords, from Part I, in which their names are mentioned.

Part III

Part III is a list of abbreviations and acronyms relating to Ireland. This includes some Irish-language as well as English abbreviations. As there is some inconsistency in the use of abbreviations in Ireland - sometimes the Irish-language abbreviation is used even in English (e.g. TD, CIÉ, RTÉ), conversely, English abbreviations are sometimes used in Irish (e.g. IRA, DART). Items in bold are explained in Part I. The entries refer to terms used in the Republic of Ireland unless otherwise stated.